SK Telecom announced on May 31 that it created a social value (SV) of 1.87 trillion won ($1.5 billion). The result is an 8.3 percent increase from 1.727 trillion won in 2018.
SK Telecom has been making all-out efforts to create various SVs such as establishing a social safety net, contributing to the national economy, and solving social problems by utilizing ICT (Information Communication Technology) infrastructures and technologies.
As a result, the amount of indirect contribution to the economy rose 0.7 percent year-on-year to 1.65 trillion won, business social performance to 147.5 billion won, up 627 percent, and contribution to society rose 12.9 percent to 38.3 billion won. However, it was found that the area of the environmental process needs to be supplemented due to the widening negative width.
Looking at the results in detail, the "business social performance" increased 627 percent to 147.5 billion won from 20.3 billion won a year earlier. These areas include the 'quality of life', 'labor', 'co-growth' and 'environment'.
SV, which was created in labor and shared growth, was 24.2 billion won and 60.8 billion won, respectively. Its performance increased year-on-year due to efforts to establish a standard workplace for the disabled, establish an 80-hour work per two weeks, find 5G and AI startups, and open technologies for business partners.
Economic indirect contributions, which are linked to financial values, amounted to 1.685 trillion won, slightly up from 1.67 trillion won last year. The employment and dividends that make up this item increased 11.3% and 1.8%, respectively, but the tax payment portion decreased 25.7% due to decreased profits from large investments in 5G.
Its contribution to society amounted to 38.3 billion won, up about 13 percent from 33.9 billion won a year earlier. The result reflects early disaster overcoming activities and increased donations, including the establishment of emergency communication facilities at the site of forest fires in Sokcho and Goseong and typhoons.
SK Telecom is also planning to develop eco-friendly technologies, build equipment, and expand the supply of energy management systems for buildings by humbly looking at the results.
It is also planning to strengthen efforts for eco-friendly activities in product/service areas such as recycling used mobile phones, reducing plastic emissions, and introducing electronic subscriptions for distribution networks.
Starting this year, SK Telecom decided to investigate SV areas that major stakeholders consider important and make timely judgments about activities that society wants and use them to establish strategies.
This means that the company will listen to stakeholders' opinions more than areas where it thinks are important to determine exactly what areas of activity it will strengthen.
In an in-depth survey, customers, business partners, shareholders, and members of SK Telecom expressed their opinion that SK Telecom should focus on activities in the areas of quality of life, employment, tax payment, and environment.
Based on this, SK Telecom is planning to strengthen new SV activities such as strengthening social problems using digital such as 5G and AI, establishing social safety networks such as convergence security and real-time control, and expanding untact services.
"We will push for new social value activities that will innovate the digital life paradigm according to daily life and the untact society that has changed owing to COVID-19," said Park Jeong-ho, CEO of SK Telecom. "We will devise all measures that SKT can do in developing new social safety net services so that we can overcome national and social crises early with ICT."
